Ancient Diocese of Lavaur

The bishopric of Lavaur (Tarn, France) (in Latin: dioecesis Vaurensis) was founded by Pope John XXII in his plan to reorganize the sprawling diocese of Toulouse.

Lavaur had the reputation of being one of the strongest centers of Catharism, being referred to as sedes Satanae, atque erroris haeretici primatica ('seat of Satan and prime source of heretical error'[1] The diocese consisted of some 80–90 parishes.

The diocese had its primitive origins in a donation made in 1098 by three sons of Guillaume Seigneur of the chateau of Lavaur, one of whom was Isarn, the Bishop of Toulouse.

The Count de Vieule was named Governor of Castres and Lavaur, and the César, Duke of Vendôme, the natural brother of Louis XIII, was placed in charge of operations.

Bishops were to be elected by the electors of each department, rather than appointed by the King and approved by the Pope, as had been provided for in the Concordat of Bologna of 1516 between Francis I and Leo X.

The electors of Tarn duly met at Castres on 13–15 March 1791, and elected Abbé Jean-Joachim Gausserand as their Constitutional Bishop; it was presumed that Cardinal de Bernis, in refusing to take the oath, had resigned the See of Albi.

When the Concordat of 1801 was negotiated between First Consul Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, Gausserand refused to submit or recant, and, when steps were being taken in 1808 to place him under Interdict, he removed himself to Toulouse.